While shoveling during Tuesday’s storm , I got to wondering who in Rhode Island might have one of the toughest ordeals in wet, heavy snow.
Then it came to me.
Stacy Rae.
By whom I mean Stacy Rae Seminick , one of my favorite urban pioneers. Or maybe buccaneer is more accurate, because Stacy Rae lives on a houseboat in the city. She may be the only female in Providence who sleeps aboard a boat year-round.
Even in snowstorms.
Stacy Rae owns one of the 50 or so boats at the Providence Marina behind the Hot Club. She’s got some compelling views – the Hurricane Barrier from the stern and downtown off the bow.
Many boat owners there come and go, especially in winter, but Stacy is among the diehards who sleep aboard every night.
Her home is a 1993 houseboat, a 50-foot Gibson Twin Crusader that she at times motors out to Narragansett Bay. It’s lovely inside, but year-round life on the water can be challenging.
For example, during cold months, Stacy Rae puts antifreeze in the Gibson’s pipes, so she has to use bottled water, paper plates and the marina bathroom. Many of the other winter diehards do the same.